Rural Self-Employment Opportunities

Self-employment offers an alternative to traditional employment opportunities and is particularly attractive in rural communities that have fewer employment options. Self-employment is an appealing option for people with disabilities because it offers a means to economic independence while overcoming barriers. For instance, self-employment allows people to remain close to an established support network, and offers scheduling flexibility to address health issues that accompany disability. It also reduces environmental barriers to employment, such as inaccessible transportation.

Self-employment is an important option for consumers with disabilities, especially in rural areas, and VR capacity to support it remains under-utilized. To address this, the Rural Self-Employment Opportunities project worked with the Utah State Office of Rehabilitative Services—Self-Employment Task Force to develop policies, procedures, and supporting materials to assist counselors, and developed a manual that specifically targets VR counselors in Utah. Now we are adapting these materials to be available to other VR agencies through an online self-employment training module.

The project follows an integrated knowledge translation process, where stakeholders are responsible for guiding project activities to best meet their own internal objectives and circumstances.

Project dates: 2013-2018

Funded by: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Grant No. H133B130028

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Quick Links: Employment & Vocational Rehabilitation

Current Projects

Rural Contracted Services
Vocational Rehabilitation agencies purchase job development services from vendors. How vendors are paid influences service reach, delivery outcomes, and pacing. The goal of this project is to increase the quality and number of vendors that provide job placement and development services in rural communities.

Rural Self-Employment Opportunities
Self-employment is an important option for rural consumers of Vocational Rehabilitation services. The goal of this project is to develop and evaluate a state Vocational Rehabilitation self-employment process.

Rural Self Employment
Self-employment is an important option for people with disabilities, especially in rural areas where job opportunities are limited. Previously, RTC:Rural developed the Vocational Rehabilitation Self-Employment Guide. This project will pilot and evaluate this website, as well as create, pilot, and evaluate a new culturally appropriate translation for use within the tribal vocational rehabilitation system on American Indian reservations.

Completed Projects

COMPLETED PROJECTS | 2013 - 2018

Use of Social Media for Employment
In keeping with current job-search methods, Vocational Rehabilitation counselors should have capacity to guide consumers on the use of social media for a wide range of job-search and related tasks. This project will develop a recommended state Vocational Rehabilitation policy to guide use of social media and develop and evaluate training for VR counselors.

COMPLETED PROJECTS | 2008 - 2013

Comparing Rural/Urban Vocational Rehabilitation Service Delivery
We compiled 2008 and 2009 RSA-911 data with zip and county code information from 47 VR agencies and used these data to compare rural and urban caseloads and outcomes. As compared to urban, rural caseloads had a higher rate of transition aged students and a lower rate of consumers with mental health disability. Outcomes were different in terms of closure rates to self-employment, supported employment in integrated settings, and time to IPE plan development. Rural and urban data comparisons provide the basis for more targeted evaluation of VR delivery practices.

Health Plans to Employment
People with disabilities often experience health problems such as pain, weight gain, or high blood pressure. These problems can make it difficult to hold a job. Participation in health promotion programs can have positive effects on health but services are often limited in rural areas. Health Plans to Employment is a virtual health promotion program that consumers can access from their homes.

Premature Exit from VR Services
Consumers leave VR services for a number of reasons. Some leave because services are too slow, they are unable to find a job, or they have problems connecting with the VR counselor. Sometimes consumers are frustrated because promised services are not forthcoming. Finding solutions to these problems will save valuable VR funding as well as improve outcomes for VR consumers.

VR Agencies' Use of Telecommunications to Deliver Services
People in rural areas have trouble getting to in-person meetings with VR counselors because of transportation barriers. Telecommunication may be one way to increase services to these consumers. Research on this topic led to the development of the Telecom Toolbox, an online service designed to educate VR counselors about using telecommunications to serve consumers.

COMPLETED PROJECTS | prior to 2008

Community and Economic Development
This project developed a process for people with disabilities and agencies that provide disability services to assist with economic development in rural areas. One outcome of the project was a grant that supported low-income entrepreneurs and led to the development of 79 small businesses.

Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Self-Employment: Rural/Urban Use
This project identified differences in rural and urban counselor attitudes and their use of self-employment as an employment outcome. Rural counselors used self-employment at higher rates than urban counselors, but both desired additional training in how to support consumers in business development.

Steps for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors: Helping a Consumer Start a Business
VR counselors are trained as employment counselors, not business developers. In order to provide services to consumers who want to start their own businesses, counselors need information and training. To address this gap, we developed a training designed for VR counselors to help them provide better services to people who want to be self-employed.

Vocational Rehabilitation Linkages with Small Business Development Centers
This project focused on encouraging VR agencies to work with Small Business Development Centers. This collaboration is sometimes hard because each agency has different responsibilities. RTC: Rural looked at the ways in which the services provided by each agency overlapped and developed a process for collaboration.

Action on Self Employment
The RTC: Rural and the Abilities Fund hosted a national conference to advance the cause of self-employment for people with disabilities. The conference focused on consumer access to capital.

Worker Cooperatives
Worker cooperatives have a long history in rural America. Members of the cooperative co-own and manage the business and share costs and responsibilities. This project researched and described ways for people to organize and manage worker-owned businesses.

Working Well with a Disability
Working Well with a Disability (WWD) is a program that was developed to help people with disabilities find and maintain employment by setting goals and improving their health. It was adapted from the RTC: Rural’s health promotion program, Living Well with a Disability (LWD). Researchers who developed LWD found that the healthier people are, the more they are able to do. The WWD program builds on LWD but focuses on consumers who are employed or seeking employment.

Products & Training

American Indian Disability Technical Assistance Center
The American Indian Disability Technical Assistance Center (AIDTAC) was a national center providing information, training, and technical assistance to vocational rehabilitation and employment-related services assisting American Indians and Alaska Natives with disabilities.

Self-Employment Online Curriculum
This is an online, self-employment training program for vocational rehabilitation counselors, counselors working in Section 121 programs and students pursuing a degree in vocational rehabilitation.

Telecom Toolbox
Telecom Toolbox is an online resource for Vocational Rehabilitation counselors to help build their capacity to use online communication methods while providing services to consumers.

Working Well with a Disability
Working Well with a Disability is a peer-led health promotion workshop that focuses on creating a healthy and balanced lifestyle that supports employment. Training is available.